My Little Ball of Steam: The Mystery of the Stirling Single Owner
by Emerald Omen
Summary: With the 2019 annual pet show just finishing, I'm cleaning up my department. While doing so, I find that one of the pets has been left behind. A small green engine, all by herself. No one knows anything about her, or who her owner is, so I take her home for the night. But what if we still don't find her owner tomorrow?


The 2019 National Pet Show had been a great success. Cats, Dogs, Trains, and the like had all come to compete in various events. Training, Beauty, Stunts, and more. I was head of the beauty department. It was mostly the typical things, Poodles, fancy cats, refined animals. But there were also a few pet trains in my department as well. There had been two, if my memory served correctly. There was a red tender engine, a male, who seemed particularly concerned with keeping himself as clean as possible. I had observed that any time someone tried to touch him, he would shy away, or growl. And the other engine, a small purple tank engine. She was also very well behaved, and had nice gold highlights over her entire body. It was a toss up as to which one the best looking was, at least to me.

The show had ended now, and all of the owners had come to take their pets home. I walked through my department, empty cages lining the wall ready for cleaning. All except one.

I looked up from my clipboard to find one cage was still occupied. A dark green engine was sitting in it, partially curled up in one corner of the cage. She looked sad. I bent down and read the paper on the cage.

Name: Emily  
Gender: Female  
Type: Stirling Single Engine  
Personality: Quiet, Mature  
Contest Entry: Beauty  
Color: Emerald Green

I looked at the small engine. Her tender, which acted kind of like a tail to a cat or a dog, was wrapped around to her side, and she was looking up at me with a set of pretty brown eyes. I looked around. There was no one else in sight, and we would be closing up soon.

"Why are you still here?" I asked the pretty engine. The engine straightened herself out, and rolled up to the edge of her cage, a gentle chirp escaping her mouth. She poked her buffers through the bars, and I reached down and gently rubbed one with a finger. A tiny smile appeared on the engine's face as she looked up at me. Her tender started to wiggle slightly. I smiled.

"You certainly are a beauty, and you seem to have a fun side as well. I'm sure you'll be picked up soon." I said, standing back up to my full height. I walked a few feet, and then turned back to look at the engine again, whose face had turned sad, as if to say "Where are you going?" or "Are you leaving me here?" I felt bad. As far as I knew, I was the last one in the whole building, and the outer doors were already locked. For some reason, this engine's owner had left her here. She couldn't stay here overnight, for multiple reasons. For one, it was against the rules, and for another, it was cruel. The engine surely was hungry, and keeping it in a cage all night, by itself wasn't nice.

Once I made sure everything else was as it was supposed to be, I walked back over to the little engine, who perked up a little upon seeing me. She reached a wheel through the cage bars as I knelt down in front of her, trying to reach out to me. I smiled to myself. She was beautiful, and adorable. A _deadly_ combination to one's heart.

"Emily, huh? What am I supposed to do with you? I can't leave you here." I asked her. In response, she sat at the edge of the cage, giving me an expectant look. Her brown eyes practically bored into my soul. Finally, I sighed.

"I'll have to leave a note here, so whoever comes in in the morning knows where you are. I guess you're coming home with me tonight." I said as I scribbled a note to put in place of the cage. Once it was finished, I gently placed my hands on the sides of the cage, and picked it up. Wow, the engine was a little heavier than she looked.

Now _there's_ something you'd never get away with saying to a human girl.

As I carefully walked to the front door, watching through the cage bars, Emily was busy trying to keep herself stabilized in the cage. I tried to walk as smoothly as I could to reduce her struggles. I backed into the front door, pushing it open far enough so I could get the cage through. When I reached my car, I set Emily's cage down, and unlocked it, before picking the cage back up, and setting it in the passenger seat.

"I'm going to go back and get some food for you from our stock. I don't have any other pets at home, so I won't have anything you can eat." I told her, before gently closing the door. She watched me through the car window as I headed back into the building for a moment. Thankfully, I had a key, so I was actually able to get back inside the building, and lock it up properly once I left. When I had the food, I put it in the backseat, and then climbed into the drivers seat. Emily moved over to the other side of the cage, giving a slightly startled noise as the car's engine started.

"It's alright, Emily. I'm going to take you home for tonight. I hope we can find your owner tomorrow." I whispered to her. Emily tucked herself in at the side of the cage closest to the passenger seat backrest as I slowly drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. I looked over a few minutes later to see Emily's eyes reflecting the streetlights in wonder as she looked through the windshield. As I stopped at a red light, I reached over and scratched the catch, instantly garnering Emily's attention. I poked a finger through the cage, and Emily sniffed it, before giving it a lick. Once again, proving the fact that she could kill by cuteness.

The light turned green, and I finished the trip home as Emily resumed looking out the window. After I parked the car, I carried Emily's cage inside my small house, and gently set it down on the floor. I ran back out to get her food, and then I locked the front door behind me, as I was in for the night. I opened the door of Emily's cage, and she didn't move for a few minutes. I didn't expect her to, at least not right away. My house was a whole new environment for her, she needed to get used to it.

After a few minutes, she hesitantly rolled out of her cage, and looked around, before she looked up at me.

"You want a tour?" I asked, scooping up the little engine in my arms. With her tender, she was a handful, or should I say, an arm full. I carried her through my house, showing her all the rooms, and then I took her out to the back yard. I set her down, and she was quick to roll off into the grass, sniffing everything she could. I leaned against the wall, and watched as she explored the yard, curious about everything. I'd been working with pets at shows for years, but I'd never seen such an adorable one. The owners were usually so strict with their pets, training them to always behave, and never act freely. There's no harm in training an creature, but when you're never giving them the chance to act as who they are, you're doing something wrong.

Eventually, a cool gentle breeze picked up, and Emily came back to me, nuzzling herself in between my feet. I looked down as she looked up at me, an unhappy look on her face.

"Time to go back inside?" I asked as I picked her up. I carried her back inside the house, and let her explore while I got her food ready. I had no knowledge of when her usual eating times were, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The least I could do when I found her owner was let them know she had been well taken care of.

I set her bowls down on the floor for her, and went to sit in my easy chair to continue a book I had been reading. After a little while, the sound of crunching came into the room, and I looked up to see Emily nibbling her food. I smiled as I continued to read. It must have been a good fifteen minutes Emily ate, most likely because she had been trained to eat slowly. I hadn't realized she was finished until I felt a weight on my legs, and put my book down to find Emily sitting on them. I put the book aside, and leaned the back of the chair backwards, and invited her up. She rolled up to my chest, and nuzzled herself between the chairs armrest and my side, a gentle purring emanating from her.

I gently scratched behind her funnel, and tickled her wheels until she gently bat my hand away. She finally closed her eyes, and I dubbed that she had gone to sleep, which meant I was unable to move. I didn't want to disturb her, and at least I was in my comfortable chair. I picked up my book again, and continued reading for a good while, before I let a yawn escape me. I slowly stretched, being careful not to wake Emily, and looked down at the little engine. Somehow, she had buried herself deep into the chair, her body resting against both me and the armrest. I decided to follow her lead, and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to find me.

. . .

Despite being in the chair instead of my bed, I slept well. I woke up around my usual time, to find that Emily had barely moved. But, it was time to wake her up as well. I had to get up, and get ready to take her back to work so hopefully her rightful owner would pick her up. I gently rocked my waist, pulling the little engine out of her slumber. She let out an adorable little yawn, and then looked up at me with tired little eyes.

"Good morning, little one. Did you sleep well?" I whispered to her, scratching her chin. She put on an adorable smile and nuzzled my hand affectionately. Once she finally got up, I put the chair in it's original position, and stood up, stretching. I was slightly stiff from staying in the one constant position all night, but it wasn't too bad. I had an hour and a half until my work day started, so I gave Emily some more food and fresh water, before making myself breakfast.

As the two of us ate, I was trying to figure out what would happen if, for some reason, Emily's owner didn't show up to get her. What would we do with her? I certainly didn't want to give her to an animal shelter.

I felt a nudge against my foot, and looked down to see the little engine herself looking up at me.

"Did you finish already?" I asked, looking over at her food bowl, which was empty. I finished my food, and then put the dishes in the sink, Emily never leaving my side. I scooped her up, and set her on the counter, so she could watch while I cleaned the dishes. It didn't take long, and once the dishes were I decided maybe Emily would like a wash. I took a gentle bristles brush, and put some soapy water on it, before gently running it over her green body. She didn't seem to mind, so I repeated the process until she was covered in soapy suds. She had her eyes closed, and her tongue was poking out of her mouth just slightly.

God she was adorable.

I washed her wheels, and her funnel, and then rinsed her off. She pawed at the water in the sink with her front wheel, flicking it around when it got wet. I scooped her up in a towel and dried her off, carrying her into my bedroom as she wrapped herself in the warm towel. I set her on my bed, and she wriggled out of the towel as I changed into some fresh clothes. After that, I looked at the clock, and realized that washing the little Stirling had taken more time than I had anticipated. It was going to be time to head to work soon, so I set my keys on the bed as I combed my hair.

When I looked back over to the bed, Emily had my keys in her mouth, nomming on them gently.

"Hey, I need those." I said, gently tugging the keychain from her mouth. She refused to let go, however, and wanted to make a game out of it, it seemed. She looked directly at me, a playful look in her eyes. I sighed, and smirked.

"Alright you, you think your stronger than me?" I asked, gently tugging the keys again. Emily wagged her tender eagerly, and kept a firm grip on my keys. While she was focused, I moved my free hand and placed it on top of her, before I started scratching behind her funnel. She opened her mouth in surprise, freeing my keys.

"Ah-ha! Victory!" I said, holding my keys into the air in triumph. Emily had an adorable pouty face, but that quickly vanished as I continued to scratch her. She rolled onto her side, her tongue sticking out of her mouth. She squirmed as I stroked her, a gentle purr slowly getting louder coming from her.

After five minutes, I scooped her up and carried her to the door. I made sure I had all I needed, and then walked outside, locking my door behind me. I opened the passenger door of my car, and gently set Emily into the passenger seat, before walking around to the other side and getting into the driver's seat.

"Time to go and find your owner today, I hope." I said. Emily didn't look pleased, as she stuffed herself deeper into the car seat. I raised an eyebrow, and pulled out onto the road. The trip went by in relative silence, as Emily had gone quiet and still, so I zoned out while I drove, wondering of all the people I had seen the previous day, who could her owner have been? I hadn't seen who had dropped her off, and among the other pet engine's, I didn't really notice her until she was the only one left.

I was still wondering how I could figure out who the owner was as I pulled into the parking lot. I parked, and scooped Emily back up in my arms, although she had tried to hold onto the car seat. It was starting to seem like she didn't want to reunite with her owner, whoever it was. She didn't even seem to want to be here.

I carried her inside, and after talking to several other employee's, still hadn't figured out who owned her. As far as I could tell, there wasn't even record of a green Stirling Single that had been entered into the show. I showed my boss the slip of paper that had been on her cage, and after she examined it, informed me that it wasn't a legitimate slip.

So Emily wasn't even supposed to be here.

Then, why was she here?

The more I thought about how Emily didn't seem to like the idea of being reunited with her owner, her being here with no proper papers, and no once noticing, I was starting to wonder if some cruel owner had left her here, because they didn't want her.

I looked down at the little engine in my arms. She had snuggled herself between my arm and chest, her little eyes closed. She had some of her wheels clinging to my shirt, and a gentle purr was coming from her.

"Who wouldn't want you?" I asked quietly. Emily nuzzled herself deeper into me.

I decided that the right thing to do was to still try and find her owner, but if no one showed up... I would take her in as my own. She certainly seemed to like me, and she was very cute and well behaved. I could see myself having her in my home.

. . .

I looked around all day, asking everyone I could, but no one knew who Emily belonged to. In fact, most hadn't even seen her before. Now I firmly believed she had been snuck in as a drop and run from ownership. Such a mean thing to do to such a little defenseless creature.

As the other employee's were filing out, I walked up to the cage I had to set her in. I couldn't carry her around all day, and I made sure to give her the most spacious cage that was available. She perked up when she saw me, and pressed herself into the bars towards me. I opened the door, and picked her up.

"Well, no one knows anything about you, and no one knows who your owner is. So, what do you think? Do you want to come and live with me?" I asked her. She looked at me with her huge brown eyes, and a giddy smile spread across her face. She licked my nose, and clung to my shoulder as I held her. I smiled as I heard her purring once again.

"I'll take that as a yes. Well then, I'll have to buy a few things for you tomorrow. I want you to be happy living with me, after all. I'm sure we'll get along just fine." I said, taking her out to my car.

As we traveled home, I looked to see her curled up in the passenger seat, fast asleep, and content smile on her face, as if she knew everything was going to be alright now.

And it would be.

I'd see to that. Emily was mine now, and I knew we'd both improve each others lives in many ways.

* * *

The third in my pet engine series. There was a request for an Emily story, so here it is! I'm going to take a break from these now, as I've almost completed updating my last story. I've got several new stories in progress, but they're all slow going. Hoping they'll be good when I release them!


End file.
